


Stargazer

by katsukii



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: M/M, proshipping - Freeform, this is just soft, this ship needs more fluff so here u go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:08:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22340818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katsukii/pseuds/katsukii
Summary: Zane takes Aster on a date (for once). Fluffy ProShipping.
Relationships: Marufuji Ryou | Zane Truesdale/Edo Phoenix | Aster Phoenix
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	Stargazer

Never in the entirety of his lifetime would Aster ever guess that Zane Truesdale, professional duelist, edgy underground star, would own a pick-up truck.

When Zane suggested that the two of them go out on something akin to a date for once, Aster had expected a candlelit dinner with proper alcoholic refreshments, followed by playing cards - poker, not Duel Monsters  _ (“if you can’t beat me in less than four turns, you’ll die, Zaney”) _ \- and perhaps slow dancing in the comfort of their own home - in the kitchen, surrounded by white Christmas lights and warm, cinnamon scented pinecones. But when Zane donned his jacket and retreated into the bedroom to grab an oversized blanket and two pillows, Aster was beyond confused. It was true he had never seen Zane’s car before; he had always walked to where he needed to go or took Aster’s, who didn’t have a problem sharing his vehicle, since transportation was always provided for him whenever he was expected to duel in the circuit. Mostly, he had his own car for the cases of late-night shopping trips, unexpected dates, or for Zane’s use.

So, naturally, he was utterly dumbfounded when Zane led him out of the house and to a rickety, banged up truck parked on the side of the curb.

“What the hell is this, dude?” he asked, mortified, poking and prodding at the dents in the side of the car and running fingers over the peeling paint. “Did the neighbors get into a wreck or something? Please don’t tell me they’re trying to gouge us for money.”

“It’s my car,” Zane responded simply, loading the blanket and pillows into the backseat.

“What - it’s awful!” Aster pulled a face. It was nothing at all like his own clean, polished, shiny sports car. This truck was a rusty red hue where his car was a fine, sleek indigo, with racing stripes down the sides instead of streaky scratches and missing paint. He knelt down, squeezed a tire. Inflated fully, at least. He was surprised they weren’t flat, what with the state of the rest of the truck.

“It drives. Now come on. We’re going to miss the stars.”

“Miss them? They’ll be here all night,” Aster retorted, but one sideways glance from Zane shut him up. He sighed through his nose and, defeated, clambered into the passenger’s seat, a peeling leather chair that clearly had been sat in for many years. Trying not to shudder, Aster reached over this shoulder, fastened his seatbelt, and crossed his arms. How could Zane stand this thing? It was old - so old it had a manual transmission. Aster visibly cringed.

Zane didn’t seem to care. He buckled his seatbelt, inserted the car key, and cranked it. The engine growled to life, sounding more like a wounded animal than the smooth purr of Aster’s car engine. It popped and groaned, almost like it was about to give out, but Zane showed no signs of worry as he pulled away from the curb. The truck rattled as it moved, and Aster dropped his arms to grip the sides of the seat, nails digging into the leather. Sure, he was being a bit dramatic, but he couldn’t stop himself from feeling like he was about to be tossed out the window with the way the car quaked. Hell, he was surprised the truck even had windows. Well, ones that were in tact, anyway.

“Where did you get this…  _ thing,  _ anyway?” Aster asked, face contorting as he glanced into the backseat. The leather was even more worn, and stained with odd colors. Children, he guessed.

“A dealership,” Zane replied, not taking his eyes off the road. He flicked his right turn signal, pulled smoothly around the street corner. The truck groaned in response.

“A  _ dealership? _ What kind of dealership would sell crap like this? Dude, how much did you pay? It better have been cheap.”

“It was cheap enough.”

“What’s ‘cheap enough?’”

“It was barely over a thousand. Calm down, Aster.”

Aster rolled his eyes.  _ Waste of a thousand dollars _ , he thought. But Zane seemed content, and he supposed that was what mattered. It wasn’t like they were hard pressed for funds; Aster pulled in a decent - better than decent, really - salary with his professional dueling, and though Zane had retired, he was still in the process of receiving compensation from his old career. They had enough to afford a sizable home, situated in a good, quiet neighborhood, with proper security systems and the latest technology in the kitchen, which was a must for Aster. Zane cared more about the house’s seclusion. It took months of hunting to find this house, but when they did stumble across it, they knew instantly: it was meant to be theirs.

“So where are we going?” came Aster’s curious inquiry. He had managed to keep his judgment to a minimum, even though he was itching to criticize the truck more. Manual transmission! This thing was older than Zane. Much older.

“Somewhere nice.”

“A restaurant?” Aster hoped.

“No.”

“Sucks. I’m getting hungry.”

“We had dinner an hour ago.”

“That was barely dinner! It was a grilled cheese, Zane.”

“A very well cooked grilled cheese.”

“Yeah, yeah. Iron chef Zane.”

Zane chuckled lightly, flipped his left turn signal. The truck pulled off the road onto a gravelly terrain; the metal frame shook unceremoniously. Aster felt like he was on a very old, very rickety roller coaster, and he grabbed the seat once again to steady himself. Zane, wholly unbothered by the shaking of the car, chuckled again as he glanced at a very terrified Aster.

“It’s not funny,” Aster hissed. “I’m fighting for my life here.”

“We’re almost there. Survive a bit longer.”

Aster grumbled to himself and sunk down into his seat. Out of courtesy - or lack of retorts - he elected to keep quiet the rest of the drive. It was only a few minutes longer before Zane put the car in park and shut off the engine, which Aster found to be a relief, because the way it was moaning and hissing made it seem like something on the brink of death.

Zane unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the truck. He opened the door to the back seats and pulled out the blanket, threw it over his shoulder, then went for the pillows. Aster watched, intrigued.

“Come on.”

Without a word more, Zane walked around to the back of the truck, and Aster lost sight of him.

Sigh. Aster undid his seatbelt, muttered a curse to himself, and crawled out of the truck, shoes crunching in the dry grass below him. He looked around, vaguely curious as to where he was. The truck was parked just before a ledge, one that overlooked the neighborhood and all its soft, warm lights. It was a clear outcropping, free of trees or telephone poles, scattered with patches of grass and closed flowers that swayed gently in the chilly breeze. He had never seen this place before, but clearly Zane had - he could see tire marks in the dirt below - and he wondered why Zane would search for a place like this. He shuffled around to the back of the truck, where Zane was standing, cheeks a faint pink. Aster raised an eyebrow, lips formed the basis for the word “what,” but he stopped the question on his tongue when his eyes traveled to the bed of the truck. There, the blanket lay sprawled across the cold metal of the truck bed, the pillows rested against the rear window, and a bottle of champagne and two glasses sat off to one side.

Aster drew a breath.

“Wow. Gotta say, Zaney. You surprised me,” he exhaled, trying to conceal the smile within his voice. “Have you been planning this?”

“For a few weeks. Had to make the timing right.”

“For what?”

“The constellations.” Zane smiled, exhaled a content breath; it crystallized in the air in front of him. “Now come sit with me. It’s cold, and that blanket is warm.”

Aster agreed. He climbed after Zane into the truck bed, and did not protest when Zane pulled him close to wrap the blanket around their shoulders. He knew Zane was not the most touchy feely of people, so the chilly hand moving to hold his own was a welcome surprise. When Zane squeezed his palm, Aster smiled and squeezed back.

“You’re a bit of a romantic, huh?” Aster teased as Zane leaned back into his pillow. “Hell Kaiser.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it.”

“Never said I was pretending,” Aster pointed out. He followed suit and nestled into his pillow, dropping his chin onto Zane’s shoulder. “So. You know much about constellations?”

“A few. That one there. It’s Perseus. And over here… that’s Eridanus.”

“They sound like card names.”

Zane exhaled a laugh through his nose. “They do.”

“You study this in your spare time?”

“Recently.”

“I’ve never seen you do that.”

“That’s because you fall asleep at 9, Aster.”

Aster rolled his eyes and scowled. “So what?”

“You’re basically middle-aged.”

“Am not! That’s you, dude. You only eat sandwiches and soup.”

“Maybe I like sandwiches and soup.”

“Switch it up once in a while! We buy good food. Cook some fish or roll some sushi. It’s not hard.”

Zane chuckled. “Shh. Your short temper is going to scare the stars away.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Look, there are clouds coming.”

Aster rolled his eyes again, lacing his fingers in with Zane’s. “Whatever. Show me more constellations before the clouds get here.”

Zane smiled, more than willing, and used his free hand to point out another. Aster watched with intrigue, trying desperately to remember the names as Zane effortlessly called them out. Perseus. Eri-something. What was that last one? He shook his head, unable to recall. Maybe he  _ was  _ middle-aged. Whatever it was, he could just ask Zane later. But for now, his focus was on Zane’s face, lit up by starlight, eyes shining with the twinkling of the gaseous formations. He looked so serene, so content. He was smiling openly, a smile that reached his eyes, which were crinkled at the corners. It had been so long since Aster had seen Zane like this. He found his heart fluttering in his chest, like it had when he’d first met Zane. He relished the feeling. So Zane still gave him butterflies after all.

Aster grinned, more to himself than anything, and nuzzled against his boyfriend’s shoulder. The sky was beautiful, but he wasn’t paying attention anymore.

Zane was the brightest star he could see.


End file.
